Punjab: AAP wins Zila parishad, Panchayat polls stamp of approval for Mann govt, says Kejriwal
Chandigarh (PTI): The ruling Aam Aadmi Party registered an emphatic victory in the rural body elections in Punjab, winning 63 per cent zones of zila parishads and 54 per cent zones of panchayat samitis.
According to the results of elections declared on Thursday, the Congress secured the second spot, while the Shiromani Akali Dal got the third. The BJP was at the fourth position in the rural polls.
Meanwhile, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said his party's strong showing in the elections showed that people in rural areas put their stamp of approval on the Bhagwant Mann-led government.
Complete results of the polls came on Thursday after the completion of counting of ballot papers, which began on Tuesday.
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Polling was held on December 14 to elect members for 347 zones of 22 zila parishads and 2,838 zones of 153 panchayat samitis.
In zila parishad, AAP registered victory in 218 zones, while the Congress won 62 zones.
The Sukhbir Singh Badal-led SAD got 46 zones, BJP seven, BSP three and Independents 10.
In case of panchayat samitis, AAP won 1,531 zones, while the Congress secured 612 and SAD 445 zones. The BJP registered victory in 73 zones and the BSP in 28 zones. Independents won 144 zones, according to the result.
Reacting to the result, Kejriwal said it showed that there was a wave in favour of his party in the state.
"It shows that people in rural areas have put their stamp of approval on works undertaken by the AAP government under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann," he said as he spoke about anti-drug drive, canal water reaching fields after a "gap of 75 years", free electricity, and government jobs on merit basis.
Kejriwal also vehemently rejected the Opposition's accusations of "high-handedness" in the polling and asserted that the elections were conducted in fair and free manner.
Though the poll results showed a resounding victory of the ruling party in rural areas, the Congress and SAD also challenged AAP at some of the zones.
The poll results suggested that the Congress gave a tough fight to the ruling party in SBS Nagar, Rupnagar, Ferozepur, Jalandhar and Ludhiana while SAD made its presence felt in Muktsar, Faridkot and Bathinda.
In zila parishads, the Congress secured six zones out of 10 in SBS Nagar, five out of 10 in Rupnagar, six out of 14 in Ferozepur, seven out of 21 in Jalandhar, and eight out of 25 in Ludhiana.
In panchayat samitis, the grand old party got 34 out of 82 zones in SBS Nagar, 50 out of 93 in Rupnagar, 61 out of 188 in Jalandhar and 73 out of 235 in Ludhiana.
SAD showed strong performance in the zila parishad of Bathinda where it won 13 out of 17 zones, seven out of 13 in Muktsar and five out of 10 in Faridkot.
In panchayat samitis, the Badal-led outfit won 79 zones out of 137 in Bathinda, 25 of 65 in Faridkot and 48 of 95 in Muktsar, the results showed.
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The BJP won three zones of Fazilka zila parishad and four in Pathankot zila parishad.
Meanwhile, the candidates backed by gangster-turned-politician Gurmeet Singh Sekhon won the Bajidpur and Ferozeshah zones in Ferozepur. These candidates were also supported by SAD.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring accused the AAP government of "stealing" polls.
"@AAPPunjab may bask in STOLEN GLORY of 'sweeping' the rural mandate, but it knows pretty well where it stands. We know it. They know it. People of Punjab know it. They have NOT swept the elections, they have STOLEN these," Warring alleged in a post on X.
Opposition parties Congress and SAD had earlier accused the ruling AAP of indulging in high-handedness and misusing the official machinery against opposition candidates.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
